DelhiPlanet Weekends : The Perfect 10

0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, 10 digits which when put together can form infinite other numbers and quantities. Each of these digits have some special characteristics and qualities associated with them both mathematically and numerologically as well as historically. The Number 9 is regarded as the King Of all numbers as it is the only number which when multiplied by any either natural number would always have the sum of the digits as 9. The Number 7 on the other hand is also quite significant as it occurs very frequently in our nature and life (7 Colors of the Rainbow, 7 Days Of the Week, 7 Chakras in the Human Body, 7 Deadly Sins etc. ).

And then there is something special about the number 10 as well – it is a sign and symbol of perfection. 10 on 10 is the sign of a perfect score, All the great sportsmen in history have been associated with the number 10. So much so that if you are watching a football match and wish to know who the best player in the team is, then all you need to do is to find out who wears the Number 10 jersey.

This week DelhiPlanet delves back into history to re-capture some amazing moments and re-live the magic of the Perfect 10.

When The Aussies Were Lakered

It’s not very often that you see the Aussies humbled in cricket and that too by one man. However in 1956 during the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford, one man single handedly destroyed the Aussies with figures of 19/90 for the entire test. Jim Laker took 9 wickets for 37 runs in the first innings of the test match and 10 wickets for 53 runs in the second innings. Laker who was married to an Austrian national at the time and she didn’t happen to know much about cricket. On the day of his achievement when he arrived home, his wife asked him, “Jim, did you do something good today?” after she had taken hundreds of congratulatory telephone calls. Remarkably, Laker had also taken all ten wickets in an innings for Surrey against the same Australians earlier in the season, the first time a bowler had taken all ten against the Australians since Ted Barratt did so in 1878.

Jim Laker’s record of 19/90 was something that happens only once in the lifetime of a sport and it is very unlikely that it would ever happen again. Surely a great example of a Perfect 10.

The Perfect 10 X 7

At the tender age of 14, Romanian Gymnast Nadia Elena Comaneci became one of the stars of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. During the team portion of the competition, her routine on the uneven bars was scored at a 10.0. It was the first time in modern Olympic gymnastics history that the score had ever been awarded. In those days the scoreboards were not even equipped to display scores of 10.0—so Nadia’s perfect marks were reported on the boards as 1.00 instead. Over the course of the Olympics, Comaneci would earn six additional 10s, en route to capturing the all-around, beam and bars titles and a bronze medal on the floor exercise. The Romanian team also placed second in the team competition.

After Nadia there have been very few other gymnasts who have managed to get the perfect score of 10. America’s Mary Lou Retton is another name that comes to mind. Mary had perfect 10s on floor exercise and vault in the 1984 Summer Olympics. These days however it’s not possible to score a perfect 10, not because the gymnasts are not upto it but because the new perfect score is now 17.

Just like Laker, Nadia’s performance was also something that is most unlikely to be ever repeated by anyone. Yet another instance of a Perfect 10.

When Pakistan Were Kumbled

Well, for this one we’ll just let the images and the video do the talking. Anil Kumble’s feat of 10 wickets in a innings was surely a great achievement which happened right here in Delhi and it just goes to show that even Indian sportsmen are capable of achieving the perfect score.

IPL – Too much of a Good Thing

8 Teams, Fast Paced Cricket, Cheerleaders, The Best Cricketers In The World, New Found Camaraderie between Cricketers from different Countries, Putting India on the World Map, Glamor from the Film Industry, World Cup like enthusiasm……the list continues.

The above are just a few key-words which describe the Indian Premier League which has made for some fabulous viewing so far. However I am reminded by the old saying which says “Too Much Of A Good Thing“. Is the IPL in any way doing any harm to us? This is an open ended question, because I myself am befuddled. I do not have an answer to this question. I can only dwell on the good points of the IPL. Besides those described above here are a few more:

1. Your Daily Dose Of Cricket: What does an average Indian television viewer need? No, not Saas-Bahu soaps. They are anyway getting really boring. Nothing beats fast paced 20-20 cricket. Nothing better than a cricket match starting every day at 8 PM in the evening, when you are just back from work and relaxing into your easy chair. The latest Television Rating Points (TRP’s) show higher ratings for the matches than for the women oriented soaps, even among women. This has moved SET MAX to the Number 1 spot across genres of television channels (SET MAX paid USD 1 Billion for 10 years television rights of the IPL)
2. Emergence of New Indian Cricketers: Ever heard of Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha or Pinal Shah or the young crop of U-19 players Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan. Well these guys are ready for the big league and these are just some of the names I have seen play. I am sure the end of the IPL will see a lot more competition for a spot in the National Indian Cricket Team.
3. India’s Dominance In T-20: The reigning world cup champions will benefit a lot from the IPL. I feel this would help them keep their dominance in T-20 cricket since the players are learning to manufacture shots which can fetch easy runs in T-20. The swoop shot has become a favorite of many batsmen and the ability to execute that and many more innovative shots will be critical.
4. New Business Opportunities: IPL can be tapped to create several more business opportunities for many verticals. From Retail to travel to media, several industries will benefit from this reality show which can keep anyone on the edges of their seats.

It’s nearing 10 days since the IPL started and there is a considerable interest amongst the viewers. So even though there is confusion many a times as to which team you should root for, that’s eventually good for the game since you end up watching the Delhi Daredevils with as much interest as the Kolkata Knightriders.

Too bad Bhajji had to slap Sreesanth and create the controversy that this format did not need. Nevertheless every controversy is an opportunity to create greater interest in the concept.

World Cup Mania – 6,6,6,6,6,6 Gibbs Gone Wild

The Cricket World Cup, 2007 has only just begun and the records have already started to tumble. Today’s match between South Africa and Netherlands sent quite few records out of the history books. South Africa scored a mammoth 354 in the rain reduced 40 over match and had this been a full 50 over match, the cricket record books would have gone in for a massive reprint.

Some of the new records that were made were:

• Herschelle Gibbs struck dutch bowler Van Bunge for 6 sixes in one over, thus becoming the first ever player in one day international cricket history to do so. Catch the exclusive video below, with a blow by blow account of each six.

  
  Video: 36 runs in 6 Balls

• The highest number if sixes in any One Day International. South Africa struck 18 sixes in the match
• Mark Boucher struck 50 in 21 balls and thus become the record holder for the fastest 50 in world cup matches.

Well the stand out point was certainly Gibb’s feat and in doing so he made use of a very unique offer by Johnnie Walker, one of the co-sponsers of the tournament. Johnnie Walker had a 6′s contest which had the following clause “If a player hits 6 sixes in 6 balls, then Johnnie Walker would donate a sum of $1mn to any charity that the player achieving the feat desires.” So Gibbs along with Van Bunge have unknowingly helped a charity win a big sum of money.

Well India play Bangladesh soon and it would interesting to see if any records tumble during that game.

Never Give Up – Just Absolutely Never Give Up

That’s what Shane Warne has achieved and the legacy that he’s left behind. He was with a doubt the greatest leg spin bowler of all time and is leaving behind a record that will be really tough to break.

Born in Victoria,Australia on September 13th,1969 he started out his international career against India at the SCG when he was brought in as a replacement for Peter Taylor.In this very match his future nemesis Sachin Tendulkar became the youngest ever player to score a century at the SCG,at age 19 (source).Although he didn’t start his career too well with only a few wickets in his first few matches,he gradually started showing his genius and there was no looking back after his performance against the West Indies in the 1992-93 test series.

Warney as he was famously known was nothing less than a magician,he could literally cast a spell on any batsman. Daryll Cullinan,a top order South African batsman averaged just 2.75 against warne, while his career average was more than 42. It is believed that Cullinan had to take psychological help to overcome warne and is also known as shane warne’s bunny. However one batsman,who shane warne could never fool too many times was Sachin Tendulkar.With Sachin it was warne who had take psychological help,especially after the 1998 Sharjah Cup.

Checkout the magic of Warney in this video,where he talks about his favorite 8 dismissals.

Cricket will surely miss this magician and Indians will surely miss the amazing duels between Sachin and Warne.